Department for Transport

Railways: Swansea

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on electrification of the mainline between London and Swansea; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Great Western electrification is the biggest and most complex electrification scheme for more than a generation and it is planned to be completed during Control Period 5.

Railways: Fares

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of average change in regulated rail fares between 2015 and 2016.

Claire Perry: We have committed to capping regulated rail fares at the Retail Price Inflation (RPI) for five years from 2016 and we have also stopped operators increasing individual regulated fares by up to 2% more than RPI. Train operators will use the July 2015 RPI figure, published in August, to set regulated rail fares for 2016. Data on these fares will be published in December 2015.

Roads: Accidents

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road deaths there have been in each of the last three years in England and Wales; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce such deaths.

Andrew Jones: The number of people killed in reported personal injury road accidents in England and Wales for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 is shown below. Fatalities in reported road accidents: England and Wales, 2011-2013EnglandWales20111,59412120121,4919320131,430111  This new government will be looking at the best ways to improve road safety during this Parliament and beyond.

Railways: South West

Kevin Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with Network Rail and First Great Western on improving the rail service to Torbay and the South West.

Claire Perry: Since December 2013, services on the 20 minute journey from Newton Abbot to Paignton have operated approximately every half an hour, an improvement on the previous hourly service with an additional 12 trains per day. The additional service was promoted by Torbay and Devon County Council and part funded by an EU grant. There are long standing aspirations to maintain and expand this service supported by recommendations in Network Rail’s Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS). The Department’s Rail Executive is in ongoing discussions with First Great Western and Network Rail about the continuation and expansion of this service and responses to our 2014 Great Western consultation showed strong support for this. In addition, Network Rail continues to focus on the ongoing work as to whether a new or reopened inland route should be constructed to provide a more resilient railway for the South West, in addition to what works are ongoing to improve Dawlish itself.Options for maintaining a resilient rail service to the Southwest Peninsula were presented by Network Rail to the Secretary of State in July 2014. The options will influence the next industry plan in 2016 and inform the Government’s rail investment strategy for 2019-2024. Network Rail is progressing work on the existing rail route via Dawlish to ensure that future route failure is avoided.

Railways: South West

Kevin Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on improving the resilience of the railway to Torbay and the South West.

Claire Perry: Network Rail spent £40 million repairing and strengthening the line at Dawlish after the severe weather in 2014, and in order to try prevent the kind of damage to the railway that happened in 2014 from happening again, £31 million is also going into improving the resilience of the Great Western route. Options for maintaining a resilient rail service to the Southwest Peninsula were presented by Network Rail to the Secretary of State in July 2014. The options will influence the next industry plan in 2016 and inform the Government’s rail investment strategy for 2019-2024. Network Rail is progressing work on the existing rail route via Dawlish to ensure that future route failure is avoided.

Transport: Infrastructure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what major infrastructure projects he expects to start in the UK in 2015.

Andrew Jones: The National Infrastructure Pipeline last published in December 2014 captured the significant current and upcoming infrastructure projects and programmes, including Transport, within the UK. The Pipeline lists 270 infrastructure projects related to transport of which 27 have expected start of works/construction dates in 2015. Since publishing the National Infrastructure Pipeline, projects and programmes have continued through the development cycle with both construction starts and completions taking place. There have also been updates to overall delivery programmes, such as the Highways England Delivery Plan published on 26 March 2015. The National Infrastructure Pipeline can be found at the following website link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-pipeline-december-2014

Department for Transport: Families

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release of August 2014, what steps he is taking to assess the impact of his Department's policies on the family.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014 through the publication of guidance for officials - Family Test Guidance The objective of the Test is to introduce a family perspective to the policy making process, specifically to make the potential impacts on family functioning and relationships explicit. The Department for Transport’s internal procedures have been updated to reflect this guidance.

Home Office

Bail

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that bail is not normally offered for people charged with rape, indecent assault and sexual offences against children.

Mike Penning: Bail decisions are operational decisions made by the police and courts on a case-by-case basis. We are reforming the police bail process in the Policing and Criminal Justice Bill and are clear that the decision to impose bail should take careful account of the seriousness of the offence and the risk posed by the individual. These considerations apply to cases of rape, indecent assault and sexual offences against children as they would to any other serious offence committed against a child.

Police Community Support Officers

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police community support officers were employed in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Enfield in May (i) 2010 and (ii) 2015.

Mike Penning: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the police workforce as at 31 March and 30 September each year.The table provided contains statistics on the number of police community support officers employed in England and London as at 31 March 2010 and 30 September 2014 (the latest available figures).The Home Office does not collect statistics on the police workforce below police force area level, therefore statistics for Enfield are not available.



 Number of PCSOs employed
(Excel SpreadSheet, 10.06 KB)

Police Stations

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations have (a) closed and (b) opened in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) Enfield in the last five years.

Mike Penning: This information is not held centrally, but is available from police forces. Decisions about the most effective use of available resources, including the number and operating hours of police stations, are a matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable locally (the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Commissioner in the case of the Metropolitan Police and the Corporation and the Commissioner in the case of the City of London Police), tailored to the needs of the local community.

Fraud

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to protect (a) the elderly, (b) mentally ill people and (c) other vulnerable people from scams coercing them to pay fake bills or hand over sensitive information; and what steps are being taken to arrest and prosecute people who perpetuate such scams.

Mike Penning: The Government takes fraud extremely seriously. The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy published in 2013, places a strong focus on protecting those most at risk. The Home Office has been working with the City of London Police to help police forces to better understand who is vulnerable to fraud in their areas, and to work with local partners to help ensure vulnerable people are aware of the threat from fraud and are better able to protect themselves against it. This has included specific targeted activity with the vulnerable and the elderly.The Care Act 2014 also places a new statutory requirement for all local areas to have a Safeguarding Adults Board, comprised of the police, the local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group to protect the most vulnerable in their communities from all forms of harm, including financial harm.An effective law enforcement response is also crucial. Action Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime. Following recent improvements to the service by City of London Police, we expect that more reported crimes are now being disseminated to local police forces for investigation.In addition, the Home Office is continuing to invest in the specialist capability provided by Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) to tackle Serious and Organised Crime, including fraud.

Police: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been made against each of the police forces in Wales in each of the last five years; and how many officers have been (a) suspended and (b) dismissed for misconduct in each force.

Mike Penning: Figure 1 shows the number of complaints cases recorded in each of the Welsh police forces for the latest 5-year period currently available. Data on the number of officers suspended in each force is not collected centrally.Figure 2 shows College of Policing data on the number of officers leaving the police due to misconduct by rank from 1 December 2013 to 30 November 2014. The statistics relate to all 43 forces in England and Wales as well as the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police. The Home Office does not have a break-down of this data by individual police force.Out of the 444 cases, a total of 405 (91%) came from internal complaints and investiga-tions, while 39 (9%) came from complaints by members of the public.The Home Office will publish details of misconduct outcomes, with an individual force break-down, from 2016 as part of a new annual data return. These statistics relate to a period before the Home Office introduced legislation in January to stop officers resigning or retiring in cases that could lead to dismissal. Where an allegation is received from 12 January 2015 officers will only be able to retire or resign with the consent of the chief officer in exceptional circumstances. The Police and Criminal Justice Bill will be introduced in this Parliament so that investigations and misconduct hearings can be concluded against officers even after they have resigned or retired. Any officer that would have been dismissed will be struck-off from involvement in any future policing activity.



Complaint cases recorded by year
(Word Document, 29 KB)




Police officers leaving due to misconduct
(Word Document, 35 KB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Azerbaijan: Human Rights

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan; and whether the UK will be represented by a minister at the European Games in that country.

Mr David Lidington: The Government is concerned about the reducing space for civil society and freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, including the detention of a number of high profile members of civil society. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued a number of statements expressing concern, most recently on 17 and 23 April 2015, following the sentencing of human rights defender, Rasul Jafarov, and human rights lawyer, Intigam Aliyev respectively. We consistently raise our concerns both bilaterally and in international organisations such as the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the UN. We have encouraged Azerbaijan to use the opportunity of hosting the European Games to address legitimate concerns about restrictions on human rights. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tobias Ellwood) will represent the UK at the Opening Ceremony of the European Games on 12 June.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to increase the number of advanced level apprenticeships.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeships benefit individuals, employers and the economy. That is why we have made a commitment to deliver 3 million apprenticeship starts during this Parliament.   As part of the 3 million starts, there will be many more advanced and higher level apprenticeships, which in turn will widen access to the professions and develop the higher technical skills needed to improve productivity and support industry. There will also be more Degree apprenticeships which allow young people to combine a world-class degree with a world class-apprenticeship route.   We will say more about the detail of our plans to deliver 3 million apprenticeships in due course.

Employment Tribunals Service

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to identify the number of people who have not pursued employment tribunal claims since the introduction of fees for those tribunals.

Nick Boles: The Government collects data on the number of claims being taken to tribunal, and how those cases are disposed of. It does not collect data on the number of people with an employment dispute who do not pursue a tribunal claim. The Government is committed to encouraging people to resolve their disputes at the earliest point. Employment tribunals should be the last resort where earlier attempts to resolve workplace disputes have failed. My right hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Aid, has recently announced the start of the review of Employment Tribunal fees. Further details are available on the Ministry of Justice website.

Science: Young People

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent on initiatives to encourage young people to take up careers in STEM areas in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson: The requested information is included in the table. This shows expenditure by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its partner bodies Research Councils UK (RCUK), the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Natural Environment Research Council and the UK Space Agency. The figures in the table include all of the UK Space Agency’s Education Programme and all of the RCUK Public Engagement with Research programme. Expenditure on general careers advice not targeted at STEM is not included. F/Y14/1513/1412/1311/1210/11Total£10,348,000£8,233,000£6,911,000£9,442,000£9,340,000

Wales Office

Foreign Investment in UK: Wales

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent estimate he has made of the level of inward investment to Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Crabb: In 2013-14, Wales attracted 79 inward investment projects, up from 67 in 2012-13. This was the highest number of inward investment projects for a quarter of a century. Last year the UK Investment Summit in Newport showcased a number of fantastic Welsh businesses and put Wales on the global stage as a great place to invest.

Department for Education

Teachers: Recruitment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on recruiting teachers in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education funds initiatives designed to boost recruitment and supports the costs of training new teachers. Prior to April 2012 recruitment to initial teacher training (ITT) was funded by the former Training and Development Agency. The information provided in the table below reflects the main departmental spend on recruiting teachers for academic years 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15:  ITT academic year 2012/132013/142014/15 (as at end-May 2015)Marketing and advertising£6,321,204£3,374,320£5,230,196ITT bursaries and scholarships£159,809,000£134,733,000£123,029,000Subject knowledge enhancement programme£20,650,000£9,123,000£14,718,000Additional support services£5,074,155£4,623,591£3,563,250   These figures do not include funding for the School Direct (Salaried) or Troops to Teach programmes which pay for the training of teachers and subsidise their employment costs. Funding for schools for School Direct (Salaried) is in the form of a single grant payment and the department does not hold information on the element of spend relating to employment costs, which will vary by school.

Bullying: Internet

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training is offered to teachers and educational providers providing support to young people in dealing with (a) cyber-bullying, (b) trolling, (c) sharing information online and (d) other social media issues.

Nick Gibb: All teachers are expected to meet the Teacher Standards, which require them to be able to ‘manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment’ and establish ‘a safe and stimulating environment for students, rooted in mutual respect’. Providers of initial teacher training, headteachers and teachers are best placed to determine the types of training and development that will help teachers to meet these standards.   The Government is clear that there is no place for any form of bullying in our schools. To help schools tackle bullying the department has issued advice and case studies on preventing and tackling all forms of bullying, including online bullying. We have also issued advice on supporting bullied children’s social, emotional and mental health, and separate advice for parents on how to spot signs that their child is being cyberbullied and what to do if it happens. This advice is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.   The department is providing £3.3 million this year to various anti-bullying charities to tackle all forms of bullying in school, on top of the £4 million provided in 2013-15. One of these charities, the National Children’s Bureau, has produced cyberbullying advice for teachers on supporting pupils with a special educational need and/or disability and we link to this in our advice. Furthermore, the department has spent over £3.5 million on programmes to support teachers to deliver the new computing curriculum. Some of these programmes include e-safety content alongside developing teachers’ knowledge and skills in computer science.

Children: Day Care

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department provides to Lincolnshire County Council to fund an hour's care for each child in pre-school nursery care.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education funds local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant for delivering the early years entitlement. In consultation with their Schools Forum, local authorities are then responsible for deciding how best to distribute this funding across their locality and they set their own local rates of funding for early years providers. The DSG allocations for three- and four-year-olds for each local authority are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2015-to-2016 The allocations table includes the Early Years Block Unit of Funding that local authorities receive from the DfE for each child. Local authorities are then responsible for funding early years providers to secure the Government-funded hours. The Department collects funding information from all local authorities through section 251 financial returns, including information on funding for early years. To aid transparency, the early years data is published in the form of a benchmarking tool, on the rates that each local authority pays to its providers. The funding benchmarking tool is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-benchmarking-tool

Ministry of Defence

Type 26 Frigates

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Type 26 frigates his Department plans to commission.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 March 2015 to Question 224988 to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson). 



Type 26 Frigates
(Word Document, 25.5 KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to extend badger culling to areas outside the pilots in Somerset and Gloucestershire in the next 12 months.

George Eustice: The Government is committed to our strategy to make England free of bovine TB, of which culling badgers in areas where the disease is rife is a key element. Options for how to proceed in extending the policy to other areas are still being considered.

Hunting Act 2004

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness with which the Hunting Act 2004 has been implemented.

Rory Stewart: The Hunting Act came into force on 18 February 2005. Between 2005 and 2014 (the latest year for which official figures are available), a total of 590 individuals were prosecuted for a range of offences under the Hunting Act. Of these, 378 were found guilty.

Dangerous Dogs

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the changes to the law concerning dog control made in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

George Eustice: The early warning notices brought in by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 came into force in October 2014 and it is too early to make an assessment of their effectiveness. However, the table attached shows the number of successful prosecutions brought under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in 2014. The period for June to December covers the period when the amendments to the 1991 Act by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 came into force. Table 1   Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of offences under selected sections of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, England, 2014 (1)(2) LegislationOutcomeJanuary ToMayJuneToDecemberTotalSection 3(1) Dangerous Dogs Act 1991ProceededAgainstFoundGuilty444 325718 5531,163 878 Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991ProceededAgainstFoundGuilty- -3 23 2   (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.   (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. Ref: 271-15 PQC 1009 - 1010 & 1013

Agriculture: Subsidies

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers have been helped at each of the drop-in centres established by the Rural Payments Agency to help register claims under the Basic Payment scheme.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency does not record the number of customers who call into drop in centres. 375 pre requested appointments have been completed so far and over 500 others are expected to conclude over the coming week. Our 50 drop in centres have provided a range of support to farmers, initially allowing them to register on to Rural Payments helping us register more than 81,000 customers, and receiving completed claims.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department is making in ensuring the mapping functionality of the system for making payments under the Basic Payments Scheme is working; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the time taken for the mapping functionality of the Rural Payment's Agency computer for Basic Payments Scheme applications to fully work; and what assessment she has made on whether that computer system will need to be completely replaced.

George Eustice: Ensuring successful delivery of the Basic Payments Scheme in 2015 is our priority and the core of the Rural Payments System is working well. We are also looking carefully at how best to develop the system, including the mapping functionality, in order to support delivery of the Basic Payment Scheme in future years.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what penalties her Department will incur under the CAP regime for late applications for payments under the Basic Payments Scheme.

George Eustice: As a result of the complexity of the new 2015 Common Agricultural Policy the European Commission offered all Member States the option to extend the deadline for Basic Payment Scheme applications from 15 May to 15 June. As a result of this derogation Defra will not incur penalties for choosing to extend the application deadline to 15 June.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice she has received on whether the one month delay in the Basic Payments Scheme registration deadline for farmers to make their claims under the new CAP will lead to a delay in the paying out of claims.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency will be making full payments as early as possible in the payment window. Payments will start from December and the vast majority will be made by the end of January. This is in line with the experience of recent years.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by HM Treasury of 4 June 2015, how much of the £83 million reduction in her Department's budget for 2015-16 will be accounted for by underspends; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by HM Treasury of 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings will be made to meet planned reductions in her Department's budget; and how much of the overall reduction in her Department's Resource DEL budget will be accounted for by such savings.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by HM Treasury of 4 June 2015, whether any of the £83 million reduction in her Department's budget for 2015-16 will be accounted for by asset sales; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by HM Treasury of 4 June 2015, how the £83 million reduction in her Department's budget for 2015-16 will be met by (a) her Department and (b) her Department's executive agencies and NDPBs.

George Eustice: Defra is planning to remain within its budgetary control totals for 2015-16 and is currently developing options to deliver the £83m savings referenced in the press release by HM Treasury of 4 June 2015. These options include tight control of budgets to drive underspends in-year; further efficiency savings; and asset sales. The options are being considered across the Core Department and Defra’s executive agencies and NDPBs.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Food

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that GM food is safe to eat and that its production does not adversely affect the ecosystem.

George Eustice: Under EU rules, proposed GM crops and foods are subject to a robust safety assessment to ensure that human health and the environment will not be compromised. The Government supports the need for science-based regulatory decisions on GM products.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Right to Buy Scheme

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the right to buy on the financial viability of housing associations.

Brandon Lewis: Details will be set out in the impact assessment when the Bill is published.

Litter

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with groups campaigning for the appointment of a Minister for Litter; and if he will make it his policy to appoint such a minister in his Department.

Mr Mark Francois: The Government's policy on tackling litter is led by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs though the Department for Communities and Local Government did provide joint written and oral evidence with DEFRA to the CLG Select Committee inquiry on litter and fly-tipping earlier this year. There have been no recent discussions with groups campaigning for the appointment of a Minister for Litter and there is no current intention to appoint such a Minister in this Department. DCLG ministers will of course remain strongly interested in this matter as it can be a significant issue for local residents.

HM Treasury

Child Benefit: Lone Parents

Mr David Anderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many single-parent families have stopped claiming child benefit since the introduction of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge.

Damian Hinds: This information is unavailable.

Cabinet Office

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on extension of the franchise in future general elections to EU nationals based in the UK.

John Penrose: Citizens of the EU who are resident in the UK can already vote in European Parliamentary and local elections, if they do not wish to vote in their home state. Equally, British citizens living in other member states can choose to vote in their European Parliamentary elections. No such arrangements exist for parliamentary elections in the UK or in other member states. The government has no plans to change these arrangements.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Digital Technology: Disability

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to prevent the digital exclusion of people with sensory loss.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government remains committed to seeing an improvement in the provision of access services for video-on-demand (VoD) services and will continue to monitor progress. If ATVOD's 2015 annual survey of VOD Services indicates that significant progress has not been made, then as stated in the Connectivity, Content and Consumers Paper (July 2013) we will consider legislation in 2016.

Internet: Sales

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Nominet on the stakeholders who would be consulted on the sale of .uk domain names to .co.uk domain name holders.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The department has had no separate, specific discussions with Nominet on the stakeholders who would be consulted on the same of .uk domain names. However, the issue was discussed at a number of Nominet Policy Stakeholder Committee meetings, of which the Department is a member of. This was an important forum for discussion about wider stakeholder engagement on this consultation. As with all consultations, we would expect Nominet to consult with all interested parties, including civil society, the private sector and the technical community, in line with the multi-stakeholder model for internet governance that the government supports.

Television: Disability

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help people with sensory loss enjoy on demand television content by increasing provision of subtitles and audio description; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government remains committed to seeing an improvement in the provision of access services for video-on-demand (VoD) services and will continue to monitor progress. If ATVOD's 2015 annual survey of VOD Services indicates that significant progress has not been made, then as stated in the Connectivity, Content and Consumers Paper (July 2013) we will consider legislation in 2016.

Department of Health

Batten Disease: Health Services

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provisions to treat people who have Batten Disease.

Jane Ellison: The neuronal ceriod lipofuscinoses (Batten disease) are a set of severely disabling degenerative diseases. Care is given in regional paediatric neuroscience centres and by local teams. We are advised by NHS England that it is at an early stage of discussion about the possibility of establishing expert centres for Batten disease. This disease does not feature in the highly specialised work programme for 2015/16 but NHS England will be considering it for inclusion in the 2016/17 work programme.

Batten Disease: Health Services

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support research into the treatment of Batten Disease.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network is hosting a commercial study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of cerliponase alfa in patients with late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2, a form of Batten disease. The NIHR also welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including treatment of Batten disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

In Vitro Fertilisation: Licensing

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of licences the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority will grant under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 over the next three years.

Jane Ellison: The Department has made no estimate of the number of licences that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authorisation (HFEA) might grant over the next three years.   The HFEA will make an assessment of applications as set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015.

Genetic Engineering

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy to permit Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats techniques in the UK.

George Freeman: The use of Clustered Regular Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is one of the many new technologies emerging in the field of genetic research. The technique is rapidly becoming a standard method to introduce mutations into cell lines and laboratory animals in order to understand the cause of serious diseases such as cancer and dementia and identify new therapies.   The United Kingdom has a strong and clear regulatory framework that bans genetic modifications of the nuclear genome that can be inherited from one generation to another. The use of CRISPR is permissible in the UK in a research setting, as long as any research carried out has the appropriate approvals. In the case of human embryos, research but not treatment using these techniques would be permissible provided the UK national regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, was satisfied that the research met the criteria set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended.

Dementia: Social Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to co-ordinate with other government departments on provisions of (a) support networks, (b) sheltered accommodation and (c) carers for people diagnosed with dementia.

Jane Ellison: On 21 February 2015 The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 was published, building on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015. The Government is clear that dementia remains a priority and will implement the 2020 Challenge in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020.   The 2020 Challenge raises the importance of social action solutions such as peer support and befriending services which can also provide practical and emotional support to people with dementia and carers, reduce isolation and prevent crisis. The impact of these interventions is being robustly tested so that evidence on the most effective interventions can be disseminated.   During the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015 the Department of Health in partnership with Public Health England and the Alzheimer’s Society made significant progress on the Dementia Friends and dementia friendly communities campaigns. We currently have over 1 million Dementia Friends, achieving our target of reaching 1 million Dementia Friends by March 2015. Alzheimer’s Society are committed to delivering an additional 3 million Dementia Friends in England by 2020.   92 communities across England have signed up to Alzheimer’s Society’s foundation-stage recognition process for dementia friendly communities.   The Department of Health has been working closely with the Housing Learning and Improvement network to develop a memorandum of understanding for the housing sector including the development of services specifically for people with dementia.   The Government launched the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund (CASSH) in October 2012 which is due to run until April 2018 to support the development of specialised housing for older people (including those with dementia), adults with physical disabilities, learning disabilities or mental health needs. The Department of Health worked closely with Department for Communities and Local Government on the CASSH.   In May 2014, NHS England published its Commitment to carers. Amongst its commitments, NHS England confirmed it will support timely dementia diagnosis and the best available treatment for everyone who needs it, including support for their carers and highlighted that the revised Dementia Direct Enhanced Service includes an offer of a health check for carers and signposting for information and support.   A variety of Government Departments play vital roles in supporting carers and this is coordinated through updated action plans underpinned by the National Carers Strategy. Departments continue to work together to explore innovative ways of improving support for cares. For example, the Department of Health, Government Equality Office and Department for Work and Pensions have jointly invested £1.6 million to fund pilots in nine local authority areas to explore ways in which people can be supported to combine work and care.   The Department of Health led on the introduction of the Care Act 2014, which gives local authorities legal duties to support carers in a number of ways. This includes individual rights for carers to get an assessment, plus a right to support to meet any needs assessed as eligible against the national minimum eligibility threshold. The Department of Health has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16.

Medical Records

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to send care.data communications simultaneously to patients in the three remaining pathfinder clinical commissioning groups; and on what date his Department plans to start contacting those patients in those areas.

George Freeman: Care.data communications will not be issued until Dame Fiona Caldicott the National Data Guardian, has advised the Secretary of State that she is satisfied with the safeguards NHS England has put in place.   The decision to send patient communications will be made with each pathfinder area based on their readiness to proceed. No timeframes are being imposed by the programme.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Sir Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that every pregnant women prescribed the anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate is warned of the risk to her unborn child.

George Freeman: After completion of a United Kingdom-led European review in 2014, the Department worked with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, healthcare professionals and patient groups to raise awareness and encourage discussion about the risks and benefits of sodium valproate between healthcare professionals and their patients.   Several measures were put in place to minimise the prescribing of sodium valproate to women of childbearing potential (except where other drugs are ineffective or not tolerated) and to communicate the warnings around the drug sodium valproate to healthcare professionals and patients (particularly women of child bearing potential).   There is now a mandatory requirement for all manufacturers to include the very latest information about the known risks of sodium valproate to the unborn child. The product information for healthcare professionals and patients has been updated to contain strengthened warnings about use in pregnancy and in women of child bearing age. New educational materials have been produced for use by healthcare professionals and patients that further highlight warnings of the risk of sodium valproate to the unborn child. Other actions include: - working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre on introducing red-flag warnings on general practitioner and community pharmacy IT systems; - updating the British National Formulary (BNF) and BNF for children; and - using existing Departmental and National Health Service communication channels to raise awareness and provide information to patients.

Duodopa: Public Consultation

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many submissions NHS England has received on the consultation on Duodopa levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel clinical commissioning policy.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that there were 35 online responses received during the 30 day consultation period.

Diabetes: Health Services

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that NICE follows guidelines on consultation with diabetes professional bodies and representative groups before adopting the proposed substantive changes to the original draft guideline on Type 2 diabetes for final publication.

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) follows the processes and methods set out in its guidelines manual when developing and updating its clinical guidelines. The draft guideline for type 2 diabetes was publicly consulted on between 7 January and 4 March 2015. In exceptional circumstances, NICE may consider the need for a further 4-week stakeholder consultation, if either information or data that would significantly alter the guideline were omitted from the first draft, or evidence was misinterpreted in the first draft and the amended interpretation significantly alters the draft recommendations. However as no new systematic reviews, modelling or analyses have informed the proposed changes, NICE has decided a second consultation is not required. NICE expects to publish its final guidance in August 2015.   NICE’s guidelines manual is available at:   www.nice.org.uk/article/PMG20/chapter/1%20Introduction%20and%20overview

Statins: Parkinson's Disease

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he plans to commission research into the relationship between statin use and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

George Freeman: The Department's National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including use of statins and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. This is to assume that the strongest bids within these criteria are selected and supported.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which recommendations from the Francis Inquiry (a) his Department implemented during the previous Parliament and (b) he plans to implement during the current Parliament.

Ben Gummer: Culture Change in the NHS[1], published in February 2015, outlined progress in implementing Sir Robert Francis QC’s Inquiry recommendations. An annexe to this report outlined progress for each of the 290 recommendations[2]. This report shows that for the overwhelming majority of recommendations, progress has either been substantial, or the relevant action is now complete.   Key achievements include new rigorous inspection regime, a robust special measures regime to help struggling hospitals get back on their feet, new Fundamental Standards and a Duty of Candour.   The Government remains committed to driving change in the key Francis-related areas of leadership, patient safety and the importance of establishing a learning culture in the National Health Service. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403010/culture-change-nhs.pdf[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403012/culture-change-nhs-annex.pdf